Launch data:
| Designation
|
08882
/ 76053A
|
|
Launch
date
| 10 Jun 1976 |
| Launch site | CC, LC-17A |
| Launch vehicle | Delta-2914 (#124) |
| Mission
| Telecommunications
|
| Geostationary orbit on: |
| Perigee / Apogee | km |
| Eccentricity | |
| Inclination | deg |
| Period | min |
Location:
|
Begin
|
End
|
Position
|
|
L:
10 Jun 1976
|
|
73°E
|
|
Mar
1995
|
Sep
1996
|
72.5°E,
inclined
|
Mission details:
- Marisat F2 (NSSCDC ID: 1976-053A) was operated at 176° E from 1976 to 1991. It was relocated to 182 E (178° W) and
operated there until 1996. It was relocated to 326.1 E (33.9º W), over the Atlantic ocean, and since 1999 F2 had been providing
a wide-band data link for the National Science Foundation's U.S. Antarctic Program's Amundsen-Scott research station at the
South Pole. On Wednesday 29 October 2008, after 32 years of service, the longest for any commercial satellite to date, it was
retired from active service . Engineers at INTELSAT used the remaining on-board fuel to raise the orbit of F2 approximately
125 miles (200 km) above the geostationary arc and place it in a disposal orbit.
Ref: #98 - update: 20.02.12